AmuroNT1 wrote:My question is simply this: if the characters are going to be so close to the originals as to not matter, then why bother with the whole "30 years in the future" story and not just set the story some closer time, like a year after Endless Waltz?
Well here's the thing... it's not thirty years in the future. We don't know WHEN the timeline begins after AC-197. Thus far, Duo is the only one that looks relatively old. Trowa has gray hair now, but that's the only other exception. The explanation is that everyone pretty much ages differently on Mars. In the latest chapter, we're told that WuFei apparently still looks young.
LightningCount: GotD, so far, has been one-to-one in terms of episodes to chapters, with some exceptions (like the first chapter dealing with an event the day before Operation Meteor). I'd estimate that the stuff with Heavyarms is either the battle where he meets Quatre, or the New Edwards base battle. And yes, GotD does include sidestory material; Chapter 2 starts off with Duo's attempt to self-destruct Deathscythe (as seen in his EW flashback) and has bits from Episode Zero, like him remembering Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, and the dialog he has with Professor G before he leaves for Operation M.
Thus far, the deviation from the main storyline has begun in the latest chapters entitled MIracle Worker: Tallgeese. In the middle arc chapter, Treize is seen working on the Epyon while Commander Bonepart is about to get whacked at the Alliance base. *shrug*
Oh and Lt. Walker's first name is now Oswald